Microsoft Windows NT Server and Internet Information Server

Both Microsoft® Windows NT® Server version 3.51 or later and Microsoft® Internet Information Server require the following:

• A 32-bit Intel-based processor (such as Intel 80386/25 or higher), Intel Pentium or Pentium Pro, or supported RISC-based microprocessor such as the MIPS R4000, Digital Alpha AXP, or PowerPC.
• At a minimum, one hard disk partition with at least 90 MB of available disk space to contain the Windows NT Server system files on Intel-based (80386/25 or higher) systems, and at least 110 MB of available disk space for RISC-based systems.
• At least 16 MB of system memory (RAM) for Intel-based (80386/25 or higher) or RISC-based systems.

To estimate the required system memory, based on the applications that will be running and files that will be open simultaneously, use the following formula:

required_memory=16+files+applications

In this formula, required_memory is the amount of RAM (in MB) the system is likely to need, files is the total size (in MB) of user-data files that will be open at the same time, and applications is the total size (in MB) of application executable files that will be run from the server at the same time. To compute values for files and applications, you can estimate the average size of the files in each category and multiply by the number of files in each category.

You can use a similar formula to estimate the required hard disk space:

required_disk_space=system_minimum+applications+user_data

In this formula, required_disk_space is the total size (in MB) of required server hard disk space. The minimum amount of disk space required by the operating system itself (including the system swap file) is represented by system_minimum. This amount will be either 250 MB, or the sum of 162 MB and the amount of system memory, whichever is greater. The value applications represents the total installed size of all applications, and user_data is the total amount of disk space allocated to users to store their files, plus 10 percent as a margin for error.

Depending on how you plan to use the computer, you may need a faster microprocessor (or multiple microprocessors) and additional available server hard disk space and system memory to achieve acceptable performance. Because all BackOffice components must reside on Windows NT Server, consider these requirements as the starting point for sizing and planning.